Ivy
Welcome to Ivy!
Dream Big, Dare to Fail
Welcome to the Class Page for Ivy.
We hope that you find the information on this page useful. If you have any further questions please speak to a member of the Reception and Year 1 Team
Our Class name is:
'Ivy'
Here you will find out what we will be learning each half term, the staff, useful dates and links to support learning at home.
Staff
The Class Teacher in Ivy is:
Miss Hope
The Class Teacher is also supported by:
Mrs Rothery Miss Watson
Important Information
Click the link below to view the Ivy Timetable :
Ivy YR1 and Reception timetable
PE will be on a - Tuesday (indoor) and a Thursday (outdoor)
On this day, children can come to school in their PE kits for the whole day.
Please ensure your children has the following PE kit -
- Plain White round neck t-shirt or the Orchard logo PE kit
- Plain Black PE shorts
- Plain Black tracksuit bottoms
- Trainers
On PE days, children need to pack a spare jumper/ hoody for colder days or in case the weather becomes colder throughout the day.
White PE T-shirts with the Orchard Logo are available to order from: https://www.sptuniforms.co.uk/product-category/orchard-primary-academy/
Ivy Library day is: Tuesday
The children will be able to select a book to bring home and share every other week. Please ensure that this book comes back into school on the following thursday, to be bale to swap for another.
The children in 1 Ivy class will also receive a new home reading book weekly. We suggest reading a few pages each night. Parents need to record home reading on our digital reading record - Boom Reader.
Click on the Boom Reader logo below to take you to the parents log in page
Key Dates
-
Inset Days - School closed to pupils:
- Monday, 1st September 2025
- Tuesday, 2nd September 2025
- Friday 19th December 2025
- Friday, 1st May 2026
- Monday, 20th July 2026
The following day is also a bank holiday where school will be closed to all pupils:
- Monday, 4th May 2026
This half term we will be learning ...
Our Topic this half term is called:
In class, we will cover the EYFS foundation stage curriculum through an overarching theme. This will change each term and links to the enhancements to provision within the classroom. You can click the buttons below to view the topic overviews:
Autumn: Marvellous Me! & Let's Celebrate!
Spring: Polar Places & Roots, Shoots and Muddy Boots
Polar Places Roots, Shoots & Muddy Boots
Summer: Walk On The Wild Side & We All Go Travelling By
Walk On The Wild Side We All Go Traveling By
Science
In Year 1, we will cover the following Science units:
🌱 PlantsThis topic encourages children to get hands-on with nature, planting seeds and watching them grow, while learning how to identify and describe different types of plants.
Children will explore the world of plants by:
- Learning to name common garden and wild plants, including trees.
- Understanding the basic parts of plants like leaves, flowers, roots, and stems.
- Observing how plants grow and change through the seasons.
- Using tools like magnifying glasses to look closely at plants and record changes such as leaves falling or flowers blooming.
🐾 Animals, Including Humans
Activities will include observing animals in the local environment, playing games to learn body parts, and using senses to explore textures, sounds, and smells.
Children will learn about:
- A wide range of animals including fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
- Grouping animals based on what they eat (carnivores, herbivores, omnivores).
- Comparing animal features like fur, feathers, or scales.
- Naming and identifying parts of the human body and linking them to the five senses.
🧱 Everyday Materials
Children will carry out simple experiments to find out which materials are best for different uses—like what makes a good umbrella or a comfy dog bed.
In this topic, children will:
- Learn to tell the difference between objects and the materials they’re made from.
- Identify materials like wood, plastic, glass, metal, and rock.
- Explore properties such as hard/soft, waterproof/not waterproof, and transparent/opaque.
- Group materials based on these properties.
This topic helps children connect with the natural world by noticing seasonal patterns and weather changes, encouraging curiosity about the environment around them.
Children will observe and describe:
- How the seasons change throughout the year.
- Different types of weather in each season.
- How the length of daylight changes over time.
Key curriculum information:
Phonics & Writing
We use a teaching programme called Read Write Inc. (RWI) to teach our children to read and write. In RWI lessons, the children are taught new sounds and these progress from set 1 - 3. In Year 1, children continue to learn set 2 sounds, consolidate set 1 sounds and progress onto set 3 sounds.
Children learn to read words by sound-blending using a frog called Fred. Fred says the sounds and children help him blend the sounds to read each word. Children also learn to read red words (common exception words) on sight. Red words are words that cannot be segmented or blended.
Here is a link to help support the teaching of Phonics at home-
https://www.ruthmiskin.com/parentsandcarers/
Oracy Focus
Talk is a powerful tool for learning and oracy - the ability to express oneself effectively - is a vital skill that should be nurtured from an early age. Strong language and communication skills shape a child’s confidence, critical thinking and academic success. This is especially important in the EYFS classroom, we value highly the role of early language development and aim to create a language-rich environment to support lifelong learning.
Throughout our curriculum we have woven key texts through our planned learning to ensure that we can support children to develop their communication skills, learn key vocabulary and story book language.
Nursery Rhyme Focus
At Orchard Primary Academy, we learn a range of Nursery Rhymes throughout our time in the Early Years. Nursery Rhymes are important as they help us to develop key skills. This includes:
- Learning new words and extending our vocabulary
- Learning early Maths skills such as counting aloud using finger movements and actions
- Developing social skills such as turn taking
- Learning different beats and rhythms
- Develop positive relationships between children and adults.
This half term we will be focusing upon learning these Nursery Rhymes:
Maths
Year 1-
At Orchard Primary Academy we follow the NCETM Mastery Mathematics Approach. During the Autumn 1 half term we will focusing on the following Maths skills:
- Counting to 10 and beyond.
- Reading numerals and creating a set to match.
- Beginning to look at number bonds to 10.
- Compar enuber to 10
- Order number to 10
- Add and subtract numbers to 10
BBC Bitesize - Counting and Ordering BBC Bitesize - Add and Subtract
BBC Bitesize - Number bonds to 10
Reception -
At Orchard Primary Academy we follow the NCETM Mastery Mathematics Approach. During the year we will focusing on the following Maths skills:
- Counting to 10.
- Reading numerals and creating a set to match.
- Composition of number to 5
- Compare numbers to 5
- Order number to 5
- 1 more and 1 less of number to 5
Religious Education
Our key questions for RE are
" Who cares for me and how do I help others? "
PSHE -
We have a weekly my happy mind lesson to help us talk about our emotions and to learn mindfulness.
Autumn 1- 'Meet the brain'
Autumn 2- 'Celebrate'
Spring 1-'Appreciate'
Spring 2-'Relate'
Summer 1-'Engage'
Summer 2-'RSE'
PE
The PE this year we will be focusing on -
Autumn 1- 'First PE' and 'Dance'
Autumn 2- 'Athletics Agility and Floor Gymnastic '
Spring 1-'Enjoy the ball and Gymnastic apparatus'
Spring 2-'Football and Fitness Fun'
Summer 1-'Sports day and Dance'
Summer 2-'Outdoors Activity and Bat and ball'
Links to try at home
Here are websites which you can use at home to support your child's learning.Read Write Inc. Guide for Parents
Parental Partnerships
At Orchard Primary Academy we value parental partnership. We understand that an effective partnership between school and home will have a positive impact on children’s learning.
We communicate with parents in various ways which include Arbor, Twitter, Facebook and Tapestry.
Arbor is an app which allows us to send text messages, and letters to share information. You can also use this to pay for trips and dinners. We will use your email address to activate your account.
The Academy Facebook page can be accessed by following the link below:
Tapestry
At Orchard Primary Academy, we use an online journal provider called ‘Tapestry’ to collect and store your child’s electronic ‘Learning Journey’.
Tapestry allows you to login with a secure username and password so that you can view photographs, videos and observations of your child’s learning.
You can like and comment on observations that we add for your child. You can also add your own observations. Please click the image below to access Tapestry:
